Olympics' delay weighs heavily on older athletes

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Women's volleyball team

As China's most successful collective ball game team, the women's volleyball squad will have to battle against not just opponents but also age in its quest for a gold-defending campaign at the Tokyo Olympics, with one extra year to go.

Even with world-class spiker Zhu Ting still having a long career ahead of her, some of the team's core players, including starting setter Ding Xia (30) and second spiker Yan Ni (33), will face a tough challenge to maintain their physical conditions in prime form for another year. Yet the postponement is expected to allow a longer training program under the guidance of legendary coach Lang Ping, offering more opportunities for the team's younger talent to step up their game and learn from the veterans.

Should the team stay healthy after another season in the domestic league, Lang's squad remains the team to beat in Tokyo.

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